01-Dec-2011
The News
KARACHI: Pakistan on Wednesday earned a morale-boosting result when they held second seeds Germany 1-1 in a practice match in Auckland ahead of the 2011 Champions Trophy which gets underway from Saturday.
Waqas Shareef put Pakistan ahead in the first half. But Germany managed to level scores in the second half to eventually end the match at 1-1.
Pakistan are the lowest-ranked team participating in the event at No 9 according to the latest FIH rankings. However, Pakistan have been in good form and in high spirits especially after they defeated World No 1 Australia in their last outing in the final of the Tri-Nation Series in Perth last month.
“Our players are in good form and though it was a practice match the result shows that our team could give tough time to top international teams. That is why I am hopeful that they would also do well in the Champions Trophy,” former Olympian and Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Asif Bajwa told PPI.
Pakistan would play their first match of the high-profile tournament against Great Britain on December 3. |
